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The United States signed an agreement on Wednesday to build a new embassy compound in Jerusalem, a step that Israel said reflected the “unbreakable alliance” between the two countries. The accord, reported by Dawn, moves forward a pledge first made by former President Donald Trump in 2017, when he recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and ordered the relocation of the US diplomatic mission from Tel Aviv.

The signing ceremony, which took place at Israel’s foreign ministry, featured remarks by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. The ambassador celebrated the decision in stark terms: “The United States not only recognises Jerusalem as the eternal, indigenous, and forever capital of the Jewish people, but also that the United States says that we’re going to do something about it.” He pledged, “We are going to plant our flag, our American flag, on the soil of Jerusalem for a permanent and a brand new embassy compound that will serve as our mothership of diplomatic activities here in Israel.”

He also offered a religious framing, saying, “I would say God made that decision 3,800 years ago, and we finally got around to acknowledging what had been determined long before the United States of America came along.”

According to Dawn, the new embassy will be built at the Allenby compound in southern Jerusalem. In the meantime, US diplomatic services had been housed at several temporary locations across the city while a permanent site was sought.

Coverage Comparison

Dawn’s account centers on both the symbolic significance of the embassy agreement and the broader context of US policy towards Jerusalem. The publication highlights Trump’s precedent-setting 2017 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and also notes the contested nature of the city. The Israeli government’s description of the agreement as evidence of the two countries’ alliance, according to Dawn, sits alongside the ambassador’s remarks and the geographic site of the future embassy.

Dawn places the agreement within the wider history of US handling of Jerusalem. For decades, Washington had refrained from recognizing the city as Israel’s capital, leaving the issue to be negotiated between Israelis and Palestinians. The 2017 move broke with that posture, and Dawn notes that the agreement continues that shift. The report also emphasizes that most countries have maintained their Israeli embassies in Tel Aviv, avoiding a position on Jerusalem’s status.

Key Claims

  • The United States and Israel signed an agreement to build a permanent US embassy compound in Jerusalem.
  • Israel said the agreement reflects an “unbreakable alliance” between the two nations.
  • During his first term, President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December 2017 and ordered the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv.
  • The future embassy will be built at the Allenby compound in southern Jerusalem.
  • Jerusalem’s status is contested between Israelis and Palestinians, with most countries keeping their embassies in Tel Aviv pending a negotiated resolution.